ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
San Mateo County Community College District
Subject:
International Travel and Conference Expense Procedures
Revision Date: 07/2014
This administrative procedure document is an integral part of the District’s Rules and Regulation section
8.55 and is subject to change when laws and regulations in the areas of conference attendance, travel
and meals expenses change.
1. Purpose and Scope
Employees traveling on international business trips authorized by the colleges or the District must follow
these procedures.
2. Transportation
Economy class or any discounted class airfare shall be used for all reservations. Upgrading to more
expensive class is allowed but only at employee’s expense. Any special accommodations require preapproval by the supervisor in order to be reimbursed by the District. In all cases, the decision to pay a
higher fare must take into consideration the best interest of the College/District.
A copy of the reservation should be provided along with the Conference Expense Reimbursement form.
All travel reservations should be made using a procurement card whenever possible.
If a trip is canceled, every effort must be made to recover the credit. The following situations
describe the factors to consider when reimbursing for cancellations:
A. When the cancellation of the trip was within the traveler’s control and:
i. No credit is issued – the traveler must reimburse the District for the cost of the ticket.
ii. A credit is issued – the credit must be used for SMCCCD business travel or the traveler must
reimburse the District.
B. When the cancellation of the trip was outside of the traveler’s control and:
i. No credit is issued – the District will cover the cost of the ticket.
ii. A credit is issued – the credit must be used for SMCCCD business travel or the traveler can “buy”
the credit from the District for personal use. If the credit can’t be used, the District will absorb the
cost of the ticket.
1
Rev. March 2014
International Conference and Travel Expenses Procedure
If expenses are incurred due to employee’s negligence when making travel reservations they should be
reimbursed to the District promptly.
Any travel vouchers/credits earned due to changes in reservations remain the property of the District
and should be used for future business flights within the same fiscal year whenever possible.
3. Lodging, Meals and Incidental Expenses: Per Diem
In order to provide simplicity in recordkeeping and to promote uniformity in the reimbursements across
the world, the District will use a Per Diem rate that covers lodging, meals and incidental expenses.
District employees may be reimbursed for expenses on a Per Diem basis up to the maximum full daily
rate established by the U.S. Department of State for foreign travel.
Prior to the trip, the District employee will be given an advance equivalent to the per-diem amount
multiplied by the number of business travel nights for both lodging and meal/incidental expenses.
Note: Because the District is providing a per diem amount in advance, District employees should not
use a procurement card for these expenses. If a procurement card is accidentally used for expenses
covered by the per diem amount, the employee should reimburse the District for the actual expenses
posted on the procurement card.
Any extra days prior or after the conference should be at the employee’s personal expense.
Charges for failure to cancel hotel reservations in a timely manner or for double bookings should not be
reimbursed, or if paid on a procurement card should be reimbursed to the District promptly.
a. Meals
Meals must be incurred during business travel and based on allowable per diem rates which include:



Basic cost of meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner) – excludes alcohol consumption
Sales tax
Reasonable customary tip/gratuity( a reasonable 10%-15% tip is allowed on total food costs)
b. Business-related meals
Meals with existing or potential external business partners are considered business-related meals and a
procurement card could be used to cover them. If the procurement card is used for business-related
meals, the employee’s reimbursement will be adjusted by the per-diem portion of that meal. A detailed
receipt including the names of the participants and the purpose of the meeting is required in order to be
qualified as a District covered expenses.
When dining with another District employee or agent who receives reimbursement for his/her
expenses, if one of the employees covers the cost of the other, the employee who did not pay will have
his/her reimbursement adjusted by the per diem portion of that meal.
c. Incidentals
2
Rev. March 2014
International Conference and Travel Expenses Procedure
Below are examples of items considered to be incidental expenses – these are not considered
miscellaneous expenses and should not be charged on Pro-card:
Fees and tips given to baggage carriers, bellhops,
hotel maids, stewards
Late Check-Out Fees
Tips (for personal services received)
Foreign transaction fees (credit cards)
Telephone Calls (other than official business)
For business trips of over 10 business days, an up to 300.00 reimbursement for laundry, dry cleaning, pressing expenses is
allowed and has to be substantiated by actual receipts.
(Guidelines for incidentals adapted from GSA/Federal Travel Regulations – Publications 300 & 301
http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/21222 and http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-regs/perdiemfaq%26a.prn.pdf )
Per-diem Rates

As published by the U.S. Department of State
o


FTR Appendix B (Breakdown of Meals/Incidentals)
Use the “Other” category if the foreign location visited is not listed
Meal breakdown is 15% for breakfast, 25% for lunch, 40% for dinner, and 20% for incidental
expense of total daily Meal and Incidental Expense rate (M&IE)
Per-diem Reimbursement Guidelines
1. Provide a detailed daily itinerary (see Appendix A) which notes the date(s), locations visited and
the business purpose of the trip.
2. Provide a detailed list of the Per Diem rates claimed (see Appendix B). Daily meal allowance(s) are
allowable according to the following time guidelines:
Employee can claim per-diem depending on the flight times as followed:
Flight time starts…employee can claim
Before 12 noon
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
X
X
X
X
X
Between 12 noon and 6pm
After 6pm
X
Return flight time starts… employee can claim at
departure city rate
Breakfast
Lunch
Before 12 noon
X
Between 12 noon and 6pm
X
X
After 6pm
X
X
Dinner
X
* If on-flight meals are provided, the meal portion of per-diem should not be claimed in lieu of
the on-flight meals.
3
Rev. March 2014
International Conference and Travel Expenses Procedure
* Incidental per-diem should be adjusted accordingly depending on the flight times (i.e.
returning flight before noon ½ of incidental per-diem should be allowed).
* For the departure day the employees will be allowed one meal at the domestic per-diem level
to cover meal expenses that the employees may incur prior to boarding on the international
flight. Similar, the employees will be allowed one meal at the domestic per-diem level to cover
meal expenses that the employees may incur right after the flight arrives in the US. The portion
of the domestic per-diem (breakfast – $10.00, lunch – $15.00, dinner – $30.00) will depend on
the take-off/landing times of the airplanes.
When visiting more than one city in one day, use the per diem rate for the business location
with overnight stay.
The daily per diem rate must be adjusted for the following situations:
Deductions for Meals Included in Registration Fees:
When a meal has been paid for as a part of a registration fee, a deduction must be made from
the applicable per diem rate.
Deductions for Non-Business Days:
Any personal/non-business days should not be included. Weekends are allowable if the
business spans Saturday and Sunday.
4. Insurance for travelers
Employees - District employees eligible for benefits are routinely covered 24 hours a day, worldwide,
against accidental death or dismemberment and other accidents and incidents while on an official
business trip. District provided medical insurance covers international traveling, therefore check with
Human Resources prior to purchasing additional medical travel insurance. If coverage is provide
through the District medical insurance, purchase of any additional travel and medical insurance
coverage is considered an out-of-pocket, unreimbursable expense. If a procurement card is used for
these expenses, the employee should reimburse the District promptly.
Vehicles - when private vehicles/rental cars are used on District business, the employees are responsible
for maintaining adequate liability insurance coverage.
Travelers using rental cars should include Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI) and Loss Damage
Waiver (LDW) when renting.
5. Traveler Tips and Miscellaneous Expenses
 Receipts are not required if claiming meals and lodging per diem (no procurement cards should
be used when requesting per-diem).
 Reimbursement of meals per diem is not allowable if an airline meal was provided.
 Room service should be avoided whenever possible due to the extra charges it incurs.
 Use the per diem rate for the first business location where you will spend the night for day of
departure.
4
Rev. March 2014
International Conference and Travel Expenses Procedure












Use the per diem rate for the last business location where you stayed overnight for day of
return.
No international per-diem should be claimed upon return to US.
If the procurement card is used for business-related meals, the employee’s reimbursement will
be adjusted by the per-diem portion of that meal. Submittal of an itemized receipt is required
with the business purpose of the meeting and names of attendees noted on the receipt.
If the District agent pays for the business meal with the District employee, the employee cannot
request per diem reimbursement for these meals.
The procurement cardholder is obligated to obtain a detailed receipt for all pro-card charges.
Detailed receipts and proof of payment should be provided for all business related expenses in
order to be reimbursed. An explanation/description of the expense should be included on all
receipts. In case of missing receipts or proof of payment, detailed explanation should be
provided and it is subject to District’s review for reimbursement approval. For example, a used
pre-paid phone card is not considered sufficient proof of purchase and therefore is subject to
District’s approval for payment.
For any cash payments a detailed receipt with explanation must be provided. In case of missing
receipts, the reimbursement amount limit and approval will be at District’s discretion.
All other reasonable miscellaneous expenses are reimbursable when they are ordinary and
necessary to accomplish the official business purpose of a trip. For any out-of-ordinary
miscellaneous expense prior or during the trip, a detailed receipt and explanation should be
provided and reimbursement is subject to District’s review for reimbursement approval.
As much as possible, the employee should only pay for their own travel expenses and avoid
combining other employees’ expenses with his/her own travel expenses.
Whenever the employees use their procurement cards for personal service expenses, the
employee should reimburse the District promptly.
When advance reservations are made with procurement cards (registration, travel, etc.) for
events happening in the following fiscal year, the information must be forwarded to Accounts
Payable in a timely manner, so it can be set as a prepayment for the following fiscal year.
If an employee receives a travel reimbursement by a third party for the travel expenses, the
third party reimbursement should be deposited back to the District as a refund of expenditures
in the appropriate travel expense account used for the trip. Consequently, the employee should
complete the Conference Expense Reimbursement form to document all travel expenses and
will be reimbursed according to these policies and procedures.
6. Reporting and Reimbursement Procedures
Compliance with IRS Rules:
The District’s travel and conference procedures are designed to meet the Internal Revenue Services (IRS)
definition of an “accountable plan”. Reimbursements made in accordance with an accountable plan are
not reported as taxable wages on the employee’s Form W-2. Adherence to these policies and
procedures ensures that business travel reimbursement will remain income tax free. Failure to follow
5
Rev. March 2014
International Conference and Travel Expenses Procedure
these procedures may result in amounts being reported as taxable income to the traveler. Under the
accountable plan, travel advances and reimbursement of expenses must meet three requirements:
1. Advances may only be made for approved business expenses, and provided to an employee
within 30 days prior to the trip.
2. Travelers must provide an adequate accounting or substantiation of their actual travel related
expenses within 30 days following the trip.
3. Employees must return any advance amounts in excess of substantiated expenses as soon as
possible after the travel is completed.
(The amount of reimbursement for lodging, meals and incidentals to be allowed may not exceed the
daily maximum per-diem rates. Any reimbursements to the employee beyond the per-diem portion for
lodging, meals and incidental are treated by IRS as taxable income and should be reported on the
employee’s W2.) Reference: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15.pdf (Page 15 - “Per Diem or other fixed allowance”)
Required Documentation:
Employees must keep a record of and substantiate their travel and entertainment expenses by
submitting a completed Statement of Conference Expense form (along with all required documentation)
to the Accounts Payable office within reasonable time after completing their travel.
The conference expense form should be supported by sufficient information to establish the business
purpose of the travel, the dates and location of the travel as well as detailed, itemized, original receipts
for all reimbursable expenses as well as any expenses charged to the purchasing card.
The following documentation should be provided along with the Statement of Conference Expense
form:





Itemized receipts for all travel related expenses (transportation, registration, etc.)
Conference/event agenda/schedule
Flight reservations
Detailed Daily Trip Itinerary
Travel Expense Detail spreadsheet
The complete package with all required approvals will be forwarded to AP for review and processing. In
case of any discrepancies or departures from the District International Travel and Conference Expense
Procedures, the AP staff is required to complete an Audit Findings form. The Audit Findings form
requires the acknowledgment and approval of the employee and their supervisor prior to processing the
reimbursement.
The District’s International Travel and Conference Expense Procedures have been prepared using as
reference the Internal Revenue Service and General Service Administration publications and have been
adapted to reflect the District’s specifics.
6
Rev. March 2014
International Conference and Travel Expenses Procedure
Appendix A – Example of Detailed Daily Trip Itinerary
Business Purpose: Attend ISN Spring 2013 Asia Tour for International Student Recruitment
Dates of Travel: 3/07 – 30/13
7
Rev. March 2014
International Conference and Travel Expenses Procedure
Appendix B – Example Detailed List of Per Diem Rates Claimed
8
Rev. March 2014
International Conference and Travel Expenses Procedure
Appendix B: Conference and Travel Federal Guidelines web links




IRS Pub 43 Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Card Expenses
o Travel outside the United States, see page 7.
IRS Pub 15 (Circular E) Employer’s Tax Guide –
o Per diem as accounted for expense definition, see Page 15 “Per diem or other fixed allowance”
U.S. Department of State Per Diem Rates:
o
Foreign Per Diem Rates by Location
o
FTR Appendix B (Breakdown of Meals/Incidentals)
Guidelines for incidentals adapted from GSA/Federal Travel Regulations –
o Publications 300 & 301 http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/21222
o
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-regs/perdiemfaq%26a.prn.pdf )
9
Rev. March 2014